The English Department runs a range of extra-curricular activities for students throughout the school. Whether you relish the rhetorical flourish of a lively debate, delight in a carefully crafted stanza, or if you’re setting your sights on a future in journalism, there is something for everybody!

The Senior Debating Group has started the year off with a lively debate on the motion, ‘This house would ban trial by jury.’ They are about to begin preparations for the first round of the ESU national competition, arguing as the proposition for the motion, ‘This house would have education policy written by education experts, not politicians.’ We have been delighted to welcome new and existing members of the Junior Debating club partnership with St Aloysius, who have been preparing a debate on the motion, ‘This house believes that all you need is love.’

Creative Writing Club gives students in Years 7 to 10 the opportunity to workshop their ideas and receive feedback in a friendly and supportive setting. This half term, with Mrs Kanmwaa, students have been focusing on poetry, exploring, in particular, the power of the metaphor. We have enjoyed sharing some extraordinary, surprising and delightfully inventive work. After the half-term holiday, Dr Hayward will be running a six-week programme on the art of writing fiction. The sessions will focus on generating ideas, developing authentic characters and crafting a plot.